"More than 50 years after nearly being wiped out in eastern U.S. forests by a deadly imported fungus, the American chestnut may be on the comeback trail.

American Chestnut Foundation scientists say they have bred the U.S. tree with a blight-resistant Asian chestnut to produce a hardy variety that retains about 94 percent of its original genes.

The foundation and its partners, the U.S. Forest Service and the University of Tennessee, announced last week that the first-ever crops of blight-resistant saplings are thriving after their first growing season in three national forests."